Choices
by JoyfulPeace
Summary: Prom has arrived and decisions must be made. Z/J, Z/C, L/Q, Q/M


_DISCLAIMER: I do not own Zoey 101 _

_AN: So, I saw the preview for Chasing Zoey and decided that I absolutely had to write a one shot about prom…I don't think it's great or anything, it was mostly written to get the plot bunny out of my head….But here you go! _

_The day had begun simply enough. Get to the mall, find the perfect dress, and get out. But, it seemed like every other girl in California had the same idea. Her simple day had turned into a nightmare. Zoey Brooks sighed as she thumbed through rack after rack of less than worthy dresses, and tried not to get stepped on by the stampede of other girls, like herself, searching for that one dress. She wanted some color that would look good on her James, so she had decided on a shade of blue but it seemed as if every blue dress didn't appeal to her. In fact, the only dresses that had were colors that she'd always liked on another certain boy. Reds, yellows, etc. _

_She had tried very hard not to think about that other boy ever since, they'd decided that there was no way that could be together right now. She'd even moved on and met someone who was absolutely wonderful in every way. She genuinely liked James, really she did. But the problem was that she loved that other boy. Months had passed since their decision and now, she felt like maybe she'd rather spend this special day with Chase , that boy she was in love with instead of James, her boyfriend._

_Meanwhile, her close friend, Quinn Pensky was thinking about prom as well. She stood in front of the full length mirror in their dorm room, gazing at her reflection. Her silky, lavender dress fell down in folds to the floor. The neckline was a simple halter and the body hugged her in all the right places. She looked every bit the debutante. The only downer was, the only guy that she wanted to take her would never ask her to prom._

_Logan Reese was many things but stupid was not one of them. There was no way he'd sacrifice his cool image by publicly taking her to prom. At one time, she might've agreed. About not sacrificing her smart image that is. But now, she had another secret to hide. Somehow she had managed to fall in love with Logan Reese._

_Michael Barret hummed to himself as he hung up his tux on the back of the dorm door. He had to look his absolute best if he was going to win Lola's bet. They had both decided to go stag and have a little friendly competition as to who could swing the most dances._

_The beginning chords of Aero smith's 'Dream On" filled the room. _

"_Chase! Just the guy I wanted to talk to. Wait until you hear, this drippin' bet, Lola and I have going."_

_Michael paused as Chase replied._

"_You're coming home? In time for prom? Dude, that's great! Do you want in on the bet?"_

_Michael sat down in the chair_

"_Oh, you're coming back for Zoey. Listen man, about that…"_

_Static filled the receiver._

"_Chase, man you still there?"_

_The only words that Michael could make out were, "plane" and "takeoff". _

_He sighed as he snapped his phone shut. Chase was in for a surprise when he got here and found out about Zoey and James. He decided that it would only be fair to keep Chase's arrival from Zoey as well. All hell was going to break lose at prom but he couldn't be bothered with thinking about that right now. His best friend was coming home!_

_Logan Reese sat on the bench outside the department store, watching Zoey shop aimlessly. He had to admit his plan was more than a little desperate. But he had to talk to someone and Zoey seemed the obvious choice. Maybe she could explain this odd feeling in the pit of his stomach, he got around Quinn or the sudden desire to do huge stupid things to impress her._

_He waited until she had exited the store before calling to her._

"_Zoey!" _

_She turned and smiled slightly as she approached him._

"_Hey, Logan. What's up?" _

_Logan rubbed his palms on his jeans nervously. _

"_Can we talk?"_

_She raised an eyebrow._

"_Um…Sure." _

_Logan led her to the food court and sat down at a table near the fringes._

"_Ok, look. You're probably going to think this is really weird but Quinn and I have sort of been, well…"_

"_Dating secretly?" Zoey supplied with a smirk._

_Logan already open mouth, dropped even wider._

"_How?"_

"_Do you think I'm that dumb? You may have been able to hide it from Lola and Michael but James and I have known for awhile."_

_Logan sat back, annoyed._

"_Well do you know what else I'm going to say then?"_

_Zoey laughed._

"_Probably something to the extent of how you for some reason want to ask her out publicly and you know that feeling in the pit of your stomach? That's not going to go away. You're in love with Quinn Pensky."_

_Logan coughed._

"_I'm sorry you're mistaken. I do not fall in love especially not with girls like Quinn."_

"_Deny it all you want, Reese. Facts are facts."_

_Logan groaned and banged his head on the table._

"_What do I do now?"_

"_Um…You should tell her." Zoey said, gently._

_Logan looked down, picking at an imaginary strand on his shirt._

"_What if I'm a little afraid?" He asked, finally._

"_You still have to do it."_

"_You mean like how you've told James you've been thinking about Chase?" Logan shot back._

_Zoey froze._

"_How did you know that?"_

_Logan snorted._

"_Please, you totally have the Chase face on."_

"_I do not have a Chase face!" Zoey cried. _

_But after a knowing look from Logan, she added, "I don't think."_

"_So what are we going to do?" Zoey asked after a moment's pause._

_Logan sighed. "I have no clue."_

_Chase Matthews sat in his aisle seat, barely able to keep still. In some odd hours, he was going to be face to face with Zoey for the first time in months. He wondered if she'd look the same. He was sure that she would. His heart quickened as he remembered the words that they'd shared. What if she no longer felt the same way? Surely, things couldn't have changed that much in a few short months…could it? _

_Chase groaned aloud, wishing he could somehow fast forward time just to get the outcome of tomorrow night over with. It could end either one of two ways. Chase could walk into PCA, sweep Zoey off of her feet and live happily ever after or he could walk into PCA to find that she'd changed her mind or even worse, that she'd met someone else._

_Prom night arrived too quick for some and not fast enough for others. The girls stood in their dorm rooms, putting the last finishing touches on themselves. _

_Lola looked stunning in a gold floor length halter that clung to her skinny figure. She had opted for wearing her hair up in an elegant twist, long chandelier earrings finishing off the look._

_Quinn's lovely lavender dress complimented her nicely, her hair down, hung in waves across her back, pinned back by a single violet clip in the front. Her makeup was smoky and seductive. She'd have no problem getting noticed tonight. But would that special boy notice her? It was too soon to tell._

_Zoey gazed at her reflection as she adjusted her aqua strapless princess gown that fit snugly against her assets. Her makeup done to perfection and her hair pulled up in a high, classy bun, upon which a tiara rested. She should've felt like a princess, but she'd never felt more like Cinderella before the magical transformation in her life. The princess Cinderella went to the ball and got her prince charming but Zoey wasn't going to get that. All she was going to get was his replacement. She immediately felt horrible for thinking that. It wasn't James's fault that she wasn't in love with him. _

_There was a soft knock at the door, signaling her boyfriend's arrival. She opened the door to a handsome James, looking sharp in his tux._

"_You look amazing." He said, breathlessly._

_Zoey blushed. "Thanks. You look pretty awesome yourself."_

_He smiled as he offered her, his arm to lead her to the gym, where the dance would be held._

"_She didn't look very happy." Lola commented as Quinn and her grabbed their purses to follow suite._

_Quinn sighed. "That's because he isn't Chase." _

_Lola rolled her eyes. She certainly hoped her two roommates got in better spirits once they hit the dance floor._

_Lola and Quinn arrived at their friend's table to find the whole group in low spirits. _

"_Lola! Thank God! Dance with me, please. These guys are depressing." Michael begged._

_That left the rest of them sitting there in an awkward silence. _

_Logan stared at Quinn. He had always found her pretty but tonight, she looked absolutely gorgeous. He opened his mouth to speak but stopped when he saw the figure approaching over her shoulder. Mark DelFiggalo had obviously noticed his ex-girlfirned's beauty that night._

"_Quinn, would you like to dance?"_

_She spared a glance at Logan before agreeing. _

"_Sure."_

_Logan sat there with his mouth open, watching her walk away._

"_Logan! Go after her. Cut in." Zoey demanded, shooting him a look._

"_Why bother? He's going to go be all Mark and she's going to fall all over herself again. Why would she pick me when she could have him? He's everything I'm not. Smart, weird.." He trailed off, depressed._

"_Logan, that stuff doesn't matter. All a girl really wants is someone who cares about her. You fixed her heart after Mark broke it. That counts for something." Zoey said, softly._

_She turned towards James._

"_And I'm sorry about the way I've been acting, you're a wonderful boyfriend and I would love to dance with you."_

_James's face broke into a smile._

"_I was hoping you would say that."_

_They got up to head to the dance floor._

"_Zo, wait." Logan grabbed her wrist to stop her._

"_You're making a mistake. He's not the one for you. Don't settle for that."_

_Zoey smiled sadly._

"_I can't wait around forever, Logan. Quinn isn't going to either."_

_She pulled gently out of his grasp and headed to meet James on the dance floor. _

_Mark held Quinn close as they swayed along to the music._

"_Quinn, I've realized something. I made a mistake. You're the one I want, not Brooke." Mark confessed softly._

_Quinn's heart stopped. The words that she had desperately yearned to hear for weeks were finally being uttered but now she didn't want to hear them. Suddenly she remembered a girl heartbroken on a bench and a boy, who was barely even a friend, telling her that she was just fine the way she was._

"_Mark, I…" Her answer was interrupted bu Logan bursting onto the dance floor, nearly knocking her off her feet._

"_Quinn, please don't get back together with Mark. I'm asking you, no I'm begging you not to." He blurted out._

_By this time, a crowd had gathered but Logan didn't even seem to notice._

"_I don't care if you two have more in common and I don't care about your history. I only care about you, Quinn. For the rest of my life, I probably won't understand it but somehow Quinn Pensky, I've fallen in love with you. You're the first girl that I have ever said that too and I don't care if everyone knows it. You are more important than my reputation." He finished, tears glinting in his eyes._

_Quinn stood there, tears filling up her own eyes. She gave an apologetic look to Mark before slowly reaching for Logan's hand._

"_Logan, I'm not getting back together with Mark. How could I when I love you?"_

_Logan let out a strangled sob as Quinn slowly pulled him close to her._

"_Let's give them something to talk about, Reese." She teased._

_He grinned before tipping her back and capturing her lips in a heartfelt kiss. Stacey's sobs could be heard in the background but only to those who were listening. Quinn and Logan were too wrapped up in each other to care. _

_Zoey stood in James's arms watching the scene play out. She had never been more proud of Logan ever. She felt a pang of sadness at their happiness though. But maybe, she could have her own happiness too. She glanced up at James and knew what it was that she had to do. She had to end things because she could never love him the way that he deserved to be loved. _

"_James, we need to talk." She said softly as she led him out of the gym._

"_James, look you have been a great boyfriend. I've had so much fun with you and I wish we could be together always but we can't."_

_James stood there, stunned, caught completely unawares._

"_Do you mind if I ask why?" He finally choked out._

"_I haven't been completely honest with you." She began and preceded to tell him about her and Chase's relationship._

"_So you love him?" He asked after a pause._

_She nodded. "Yes, I just feel like I have to give it a try."_

_He nodded. "I understand. I'm not gonna lie, it hurts like crazy but I want you to be happy. You deserve to be happy, Zo."_

_She smiled. "And you deserve to be loved just as much as you love."_

"_And you can't do that."_

_She smiled, sadly. "No, I'm really sorry, James."_

"_It's ok. I think I'm gonna head inside now though."_

_Zoey nodded._

"_Goodbye, Zoey."_

"_Bye, James." She whispered to his retreating back as the tears threatened to fall._

_She walked towards the fountain in the middle of campus. She pulled out her cellphone from her clutch and dialed the well-known number. It went straight to voicemail._

"_Hey, it's Chase. Leave a message."_

_The tears that she had been holding back began falling freely._

"_Chase." She sobbed out._

"_Well, it's prom and I'm crying because something's missing. I mean, I have this great teal dress that matches my date but you know when I was picking it out, I kept wanting colors that would look good on you. You know like yellow and red. It's stupid but I guess what I'm trying to say is that I just really miss you. I don't know if you've found someone else over there in England but I really hope not because I've tried to replace you and it's just no good. I can't get you out of my head…" She trailed off, not even sure where she was going with her ramblings._

_There was a rustling sound behind her and a shadow fell across the fountain._

"_Now, what's a gorgeous girl like you doing all alone on prom night?" A familiar voice asked gently from behind her._

_Zoey's heart quickened. It couldn't be. She slowly turned around, afraid that she was imagining things. But there he was. He looked every bit the same. Tall, dark bushy hair, clothes in his trademark jeans and a t-shirt, his bags resting at his feet. She couldn't breathe, let alone speak._

"_Zo?" He asked hesitantly._

_She somehow managed to find her voice before choking out his name and throwing herself at him._

_He stumbled backward a bit, nearly sending them both tumbling over his luggage, but he righted himself and clutched her tightly to him._

_Sobs racked her body as she clutched at his t-shirt, burying her head into his neck._

"_Shh…It's alright. Everything's alright now. I'm here." He soothed, gently stroking the tendrils that had escaped her bun._

_She lifted her tearstained face to his as her hands gently traced his face._

"_Do you know how true that is?" She whispered._

_He smiled. "I missed you, Zo. I tried to move on but all I could see was your face. I'm hopelessly, irrevocably in love with you, Zoey Brooks."_

_Zoey laughed, a real joyous laugh. "I missed you too, you have no idea how much. I don't even think I realized how much until this very moment. I could never replace you, Chase Matthews. I love you. This heart is yours, forever." She said, gently placing his hands over her heart._

_Chase sighed. "I've waited four years to hear you say that."_

_Zoey laughed. 'I think I may have been waiting four years to say it."_

_Chase's face took on a serious tone as he tilted her head up and captured her lips in his own._

_It was a gentle, sweet kiss. It was everything that Zoey had ever imagined their first kiss to be. _

_Zoey's face shone as Chase pulled away but didn't relinquish his hold on her. _

"_So now what?" He teased, rubbing her nose with his._

_She giggled. "Well, I think we should go join the rest of our friends and I think I would like to dance with you, Mr. Matthews." _

"_Mmmm. I think that can be arranged." Chase said, kissing her forehead, before entangling her hands with his and leading her off to the gym._

_They arrived at the gym to find Michael and Lola chilling at the table._

"_Chase!" Michael cried, immediately jumping up and running into his best friends arms._

"_Man, I've missed you so freakin much!" He exclaimed._

_Chase laughed. "I've missed you too, dude."_

"_Don't I get a hug?" Lola questioned, smiling._

"_Of course." Chase agreed, picking her up and spinning her around._

_After setting her down, he immediately grabbed Zoey's hand again in his own._

"_No way! Wow! You're like together!" Michael cried._

_Zoey laughed. "Yes. Now where's Quinn and Logan?"_

"_Somewhere out there, probably making out on the dance floor." Lola said offhandedly._

"_What? Quinn and Logan?" Chase demanded._

"_Oh that's right you don't know. Yeah, Logan's in love with her." Lola explained._

_Chase turned his bewildered stare to his girlfriend._

_Zoey laughed at his confusion. "I'll tell you the whole story later."_

"_Look, here they come now." MIchae said, pointing._

"_Chase!" Quinn squealed, picking up her skirt and running their way, dragging Logan behind her._

"_Quinn! Is it ever good to see you!" Chase exclaimed, throwing his arms around her._

"_Chase, dude, I'm glad you're back." Logan said, grinning at Zoey. Chase narrowed his eyes. Something was different about him. He watched as Logan slipped his arms around Quinn's waist from behind, resting his head on her shoulder. Was it possible that Logan Reese had grown up while he'd been gone? "When can I have my dance?" Zoey asked._

"_Now." Chase said, pulling his eyes back onto his girlfriend and leading her out on the dance floor. He was sure they made a pretty odd pair, him in his t-shirt and jeans and her in her dress, with her makeup all smudged but he didn't care. The only thing that mattered was the girl in his arms._

_The rest of the evening flew by with lots of reminiscing among the six friends and of course the filling Chase in on everything that he's missed. There was so much dancing and laughter that Chase stole a few moments away to get a drink from the snack table. He bumped into a tall blonde guy on accident, reaching for a napkin._

"_So, you're Chase Matthews, huh?"_

"_Yeah and you are who?" Chase asked, confused._

"_James."_

_Chase nodded. Zoey had filled him in on her short lived relationship with James and her dumping just moments before he had arrived. _

"_Look, despite everything, from what I hear, you're a pretty good guy and I would like for us to be friends." Chase said, sticking out this hand._

_James stared at him, shocked._

"_are you serious?"_

"_Of course. I also would like to thank you."_

"_For what?" James asked, confusion etched on his face._

"_For thinking care of her while I was gone. I will always be grateful to you for that. I owe you."_

_James shook his head. _

"_No, it was a pleasure. The only way you could ever pay me back is that you love her the way that she deserves. She's yours now."_

_Chase smiled. "Yeah, I don't think I'll have a problem keeping that bargain. I've waited four years for us."_

_James smiled. "I think she's been waiting too. Good luck."_

"_Thanks." _

_Chase stood watching James as he exited the gym, lost in thought about the strange conversation, they'd just had, when a small pair of arms encircled him from behind._

"_Hey, what's taking you so long?" Zoey asked._

_Chase smiled softly as he turned around to encircle her with his arms as well._

"_Nothing. Just tying up loose ends." He replied, bending down to give her a chaste kiss._

"_Mmm. Well, are you about done?" She teased._

"_Yeah. I think I'm ready to begin our future." Chase said, grinning down at her._

_She laughed as she pulled him back to where their friends were waiting. _


End file.
